A thread– another not so viral video tucked away in some secluded pocket of YouTube. For myself, when it came to Los Angeles’ Sheriff department, that one thread was the be-all-end-all. Like a breadcrumb trail, it lead me down a ravine towards an already messily opened Pandora’s Box beyond all expectations. The LASD and it’s leadership has been under federal investigation for some time but, as of yet, not by the people. That’s what the anonymous woman behind that first thread was trying to do. It’s what led us all to the story herein–like the third of a trillion night terrors.

They grab her without explaining why she’s being detained–apparently for surveying a police operation. One officer demands she surrender her phone, “so you don’t drop it.” When she exclaims, “you can not do this”, they coyly refute, “yes we can.” The deputy’s tones, though calm and assertive, have an off quality. As if they were talking to a child, a subordinate, something less.

Obviously distraught, the woman continues to protest her accosters, one playfully saying, “don’t drop your phone. Don’t drop your phone.” Next comes the uncanny, segmented clacks of sealing handcuffs as the camera, and audio, cut to black. She published the video months later under this YouTube account: “STOP Los Angeles Sheriff Department Intimidation Acts and Abuse of Power.” It wasn’t her first video, nor the last, pushed through a channel with a call for help as it’s name.

Her YouTube showcases five videos with the latest, published just five days ago, claiming to show LASD deputies accepting illegal bribes at a nightclub. It’s rare to see such a comprehensive look at a single departments misconduct, from routine harassment to more “advanced” corruption. Should any of us be surprised this same department, and its leadership, is in the midst of a press coverage boom as you read?

Baca, according to the TriCounty Sun Times, even issued orders to deputy’s to intimidate the FBI’s investigator. “Do everything to put handcuffs on her”, he reputedly demanded. When the heat from the fed got too hot Baca abruptly retired, leaving his burning empire decapitated. If the jury concedes to a particularly steep punishment, Baca maintains the ability to withdraw his earlier confession. Outstanding…

I wonder if the more than a dozen LASD deputies who faced charges due to the FBI’s probe years earlier have the same privilege. Some of those officers, according to an 2013 NPR piece, were hired via illegal recruitment protocols Baca enforced at LASD. Baca reputedly hired dozens of officers, many with “troubled histories”, considered friends or relatives of department officials. “Troubled histories” is a gross understatement, truly.

Isiah Holmes

Isiah Holmes is a writer and freelance journalist native to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His writing can be found on Cop Block, The Pontiac Tribune, and The Fifth Column News. Video's produced by Isiah are published under the tag YungCartographer Productions.

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